Nike Free

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Comments

  • londoner, just noticed your question about socks. I wondered the same, and tried them without socks. At first it seemed as if my feet were moving less inside them, which I think is the big difference from really running barefoot. But as soon as my feet got sweaty they moved about just like with socks.
  • Thanks - have ordered a pair as my Reebok original DMXs are finally giving up the ghost after about 8 years and am looking for something a bit more lightweight but just as comfortable.
  • WelshpoppyWelshpoppy ✭✭✭
    TMR

    Thanks for advice about Pronation I over pronate on one foot Left and was having major problems with Right Leg which was though to be shinsplints but was the muscles either side of shin bone(It was very very painful)I was limping and missed 2 session this week.
    Physio could not really understand why blamed a hilly route I do every session but what ever route I use it is hilly .I have had mine for a week and worn them every day and 3 days at least 8 hours in work.....will ease of and see how it goes.
    ALF: Always a little further
    Miles makes smiles.
    Progression
  • WP, so do you think it could have been because of overwearing the Frees ? Does the timing of the onset of your pain fit with being after you started wearing them a lot?
  • Got my blue ones today :o)

    The online customise-your-own-Frees site keeps crashing my computer. I'll try from elsewhere, because I'd like some black ones to wear to work.
  • Vrap, the Nike website takes ages to download if you haven't got broadband. I had to visit my Mum's to oreder mine!!
  • I've got some black all over ones in my virtual locker for when I have some money. Hopefully nobody at work will notice that they're not "proper" shoes!
  • I DO have broadband :o(

    Just a duff pooter.
  • Hit it with a hammer!!







    ......or pop round to my Mum's :)
  • Had a three minute chat to a guy staffing the Nike Van at the St Albans HM last weekend. The Free 4.0 is should be available to us all in the next month.

    I did ask him about the dynamic heel pocket (the bit that rips), and apparently it hasn't changed in the Free 4.0.

  • Quick update - I have now done 5 or 6 gentle runs in Nike Free each of about 12km length. Any initial strange feelings in muscles after running now gone and feel much more comfortable in them generally. Quite impressed I must say.

    Simon
  • Afraid I have nothing to do with which shoes are sold in which stores, I simply work on behalf of Nike.
    The picture of the 4.0 which someone found is correct, although I haven't seen that particular colour yet.
    Footlocker has apparently got the 4.0 out before everyone else but other stores will have it by the end of July. The heel pocket has not changed from 5.0 to 4.0

    Steve
    Nike Bowerman Trials Manager
  • Had my free's now for a month, broke them in gently starting with round the house, then out on a night and some longer walks etc etc etc.

    Went out for first real run last night, a five mile training run and flew round, they felt fantastic. If this is not just a one off then I'll have to go out with the faster group at the club from now on.

    Does anyone know if their is any maximum recommended distance to run in them, I noticed in earlier post that someone has run marathons, that seems a bit far but after last night, I'm not so sure now.
  • I think you run in them until the uppers wear out. I haven't counted how many miles I've done in them, but I've worn them in lots of long runs now, including two half marathons.
  • Glad I've got a quiete day at work - been trawliung through the last half of the thread.

    I got a pair last night from Niketown in central London. Was disappointed with the colours though. I like my running shoes to be white with a splash of colour rather than the other way round. I ended up with the blue and green which I'm still not sure about, but looking forward to trying them out over the weekend (just walking at this stage).

    Niketown had some 4.0 in. They look even odder. The strap doesn't seem that adjustable as the velcro on it isn't very big. If you've got skinny feet, they move about a bit - not too good for blisters I would have thought.

    If I get on with these though, a customer pair will be ordered (had a play a few weeks ago).
  • Does anyone know if the 4.0s are available on the design your own website?
  • I dont do much in the way of running and this is partly due to bad knees that I suffer from but I decided about 6 weeks or so ago to run the Southend HM and bought myself some of these Nike Free shoes to train and run it in. First time I wore them I did a 5 miler and they felt great, not as much aching as I was expecting (remember Im a non runner mainly so was expecting some aches after 5 miles), the following week I did another 5 miler and then once a week for the 3 weeks after that I ran approx 8 miles. Ran the Southend HM in them and felt great the whole way round and more importantly my knees have held up without any problems whatsoever. Im really very impressed with this shoe and will purchase some more when these run out - that should be in about 2 years the amount I use them :-)
  • Andy: Being a 'non runner' (surely a very loose term for someone who ran a half marathon with no problems, especially with bad knees) is probably a benefit as you will not have got used to running with shoes that mask problems.

  • SticklessStickless ✭✭✭
    Do Nike or anybody else have any suggestions for what to wear when I am not just messing about enjoying frees?

    Am I going to end up wearing frees at Abingdon?

    Or not running Abingdon?

    In the last month, I have tried all sorts of experiments with shoes. It comes down to this. If I can feel the pebbles with my toes, get a grip on them, my feet stay interested and awake, and the whole power chain from toe to shoulders is alive and responding. Tie the feet up so they have no part in the proceedings, and I am back to the disappointing shuffle that has been my style for the preceeding three years. On the whole I'd rather not.

    So, what's the alternative? Only run for fun in frees?

    What do the rest of you do for long runs? For half marathons and marathons?
  • Have you tried 'lightweight racer/trainers' eg my favourite, Nike Zoom Elite. Much lighter than heavy trainers, but still with enough cushioning to be safe when you are tired. I don't find that much difference in my running style from barefoot > Nike Free > these, now I've altered my style.
  • TMR - I've just bought some Nike Air Zoom Elite and straight away knocked 10 secs per mile off my 10k time with no extra training ... are you saying that you don't really find any difference between Nike Free and Nike Air Zoom Elite? In which case I might save myself 80 squid that I don't have and not bother with the Frees.

    I saw some for the first time this week and I can't help thinking that they look like boating shoes...
  • LizzyB, perhaps I got a bit carried away there, I think it works the other way round, but running in the Frees is a very different sensation and you use your feet quite differently. That can then be tranferred, up to a point, to other lightish shoes.

    I've used the Zoom Elites for speedwork and longer races for a few years and really like them, but I wish I could say that I'd knocked 10sec/ml off.
  • Stickless: so far this year have run (albeit slowly) 5 halfs, 2 marathons & 1 ultra, all in frees. Unsurprisingly I would say there is no reason to use them just for short runs. However, running too far too quickly for you may cause problems, so it is probably best to build up miles in them steadily.
  • These soundd groovy... might try some on at Niketown before ordering customised ones from the website...
  • I've been using mine for just over a month now. I must say that I am impressed with the results.

    As of yet I have not tried running in them , I have been wearing them around the house, on walks and at work. I think that I am slightly hesitant to run in them for three reasons, firstly I overpronate and have suffered from medial problems with both of my knees before, secondly because I am happy (and can run with confidence) with my Asic Empires and finally because I think they seem to be way too flimsy for running (plus I don't want to get them dirty!).

    However, I have noticed the benefits of wearing them 'day to day'. My feet and lower legs do feel much stronger and I can feel them working much more effectively in my Asics, especially when toeing off. My arches also feel much more 'robust' and stronger. My balance to seems to have improved with my core supporting me much better. Plus they are damned comfortable to wear all day (once you get used to them).

    All in all a good buy and an interesting innovation by Nike. I understand that this new tech is being used in their other lines of shoes and this can only be a good thing.

    Recommended.
  • am confused... running style question coming!

    I commented to another couple of runners that the Frees stop me heel-striking so hard (a good thing, I thought) only to be tutted at and told that distance runners are supposed to be heel-strikers and only sprinters should be midfoot or forefoot strikers. This was followed up by "that's what I was told at university" after I questioned the telling off I got!

    eh?
  • Rubbish. Heel striking was only made possible by the advent of over-cushioned shoes, which made it possible to run as though you were walking. One of the major points of the Frees is that it will teach you to midfoot strike, and to use your feet and toes proerly, so you will be able to get far more momentum of each foot fall, rather than the braking you get from heelstrike. Have a look at the Very lightweight trainers thread, or the POSE thread, though POSE is by no means the only was to midfoot strike.
  • I thought the whole idea was to return you to the style of barefoot running. That's natural right?.....So it must be a perfectly normal thing to do.

    HBJB, I reckon that most runners will defend the shoe that they use as the best by whatever reason they can. I think it takes a brave person to try something new. Anyway, the proof will be in the results.

    Just been for my first off-road run in mine and was very surprised that I didn't pick up any stones. Will be doing more off-road stuff with them now.
  • Ta Roo & Muppet, that's what I thought. I'm cetainly not having any problems with the frees and I'm midfoot- striking on most of my runs regardless of trainers (unless I'm knackered and slacking at the end of a long slog). I think they saw the colour and thought "fad!"
  • Wore my free's for the Dorney Dash 10k today. Got my worst time for 4 years, 43:46.

    Fortunately, it was not the free's to blame, as I haven't been very well for the last few days. The free's felt very comfortable as usual.
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